Ottawa Heritage Budget Reinstated
March 26, 2004
Here is the latest information received concerning the Ottawa Heritage Budget. "Everything in the heritage budget earmarked for reduction or elimination on February 11 was reinstated except for a forty thousand dollar programming exhibition grant for the Ottawa City Archives," stated David Flemming, President, Heritage Ottawa. A sustainability plan for museums was also approved later today. A tax increase of approximately 3% is expected.
Clearly, the OMA will be interested in further evaluation of the Ottawa situation for lessons learned,and suggested follow up and action steps in anticipation of future such municipal budgets.
Below is more information from today's debate in Ottawa reproduced with David Flemming's permission. (HR&SS stands for Health, Recreation and Social Services).
From: David Flemming
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2004 11:11 AM
Good Morning,
City Council took less than ten minutes this morning to reinstate all of the Heritage and Museum programs which had been recommended by HR&SS Committee, including the Heritage Program funding envelope which includes Doors Open Ottawa.
Their retention was passed unanimously except for a vote on the Heritage Funding Grants (PS3.21) which includes funding for Heritage Ottawa, CHOO/COPO, Osgoode Township Historical Society and one-time grants to 15 community groups.
Councillor El-Chantiry moved, seconded by Councillor Bloess, that this budget item ($139,000) be cut, despite the unanimous support for its retention by HR&SS Committee. This motion was defeated on the following vote:
Yeas - 8 (Harder, Kreling, Brooks, El-Chantiry, Jellett, Bloess, Thompson, Hunter)
Nays - 13 (Deans, Bellemare, Legendre, McRae, Stavinga, Holmes, Doucet, Bédard, Humes, Little, Feltmate, Cullen, Mayor Chiarelli)
Absent - (Chiarelli)
All of the proposed cuts have been restored except for the $40,000 grant to the Archives for exhibits and outreach. The retention of this was not recommended by HR&SS and Council unanimously supported this recommendation.
There is one more motion which will be dealt with later today, dealing with the sustainability plan for the Museums. I suspect that this will pass unanimously and that its addition by HR&SS Committee probably made acceptance of the heritage programs and services easier for some of the councillors this morning.
Thanks to those of you who wrote letters and e-mails and in other ways supported the campaign. It has been a long and difficult four months. Perhaps now we can all get back to doing the type of heritage work that we all enjoy.
Cheers,
David Flemming
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